‘Top U.S. diplomat visits Havana Masons’

    

U.S. Embassy Cuba

The United States’ senior diplomat in Cuba visited that nation’s Scottish Rite Supreme Council last week for discussion of possible cooperation in distributing humanitarian aid—and even some Masonic history, according to a March 18 post on the American embassy’s Facebook page.

Chargé d’Affaires Mike Hammer met Sovereign Grand Commander José Ramón Viñas, 33° that day. The social media post simply says:

U.S. Embassy Cuba

Our Chief of Mission Mike Hammer visited the Masonic Supreme Council (33rd) of Cuba and its Sovereign Grand Commander, José Ramón Viñas. They talked about the challenges Cubans face and the support they can provide for the distribution of humanitarian aid. He also learned about the history of Freemasonry in Cuba, and its origins in the United States.

U.S. Embassy Cuba

I’m sorry to say there is no more open source information on the meeting, nor do I know if Hammer is a Freemason. What I can say is the diplomat has been meeting with religious groups, independent newspapers, and others lately, as if Washington is looking beyond the communist regime for the island country’s future while that failed state forces its people to redefine poverty and misery. They no longer have simple electricity or fuel, prompting protests in the streets as a nationwide catastrophe looms. The United States already delivers humanitarian relief, as does Mexico.

The United States reopened an embassy in Havana in 2015, fifty-four years after full diplomatic relations were terminated following Cuba’s nationalization of billions of dollars of American-owned businesses. Hammer has been in his position since November 2024, serving on a temporary basis. He is a former ambassador to Chile whose personal life has taken him to Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Honduras, and Venezuela.

Washington’s view of Freemasonry in Cuba may be reflected in this State Department damning 2023 report on human rights abuses, which says: “Officially recognized churches, Freemasons, and several fraternal and professional organizations were permitted to function outside the formal structure of the state or the ruling party.”

Freemasonry in Cuba is hardly free of communist entanglement though. That’s a story I have avoided blogging about because it’s so obvious it would be like writing about the weather. Use your favorite search engine to learn of their grand lodge’s turmoil.

Meanwhile, in more recent days, America’s communist pig-dogs:

New York Post

Click here for the Post’s story yesterday.

     

‘Grand Master cigar announced today’

    

“To know how to smoke is to recover certain forgotten rhythms, to re-establish communication with the self.”

 

Zino Davidoff

You know May 31 is International Enjoy a Cigar Day, and this year you can savor a smoke that celebrates our Grand Master especially. Just today we learned of the release of the Grand Lodge of New York’s official cigar: the Grand Master, made by Baron of HAVANA. From the publicity:

We’re proud to announce that a Brother-owned business, Baron of HAVANA, has created a limited edition custom premium cigar, the Grand Master, with net proceeds to support the Brotherhood Fund.

This cigar-blend honors the Most Worshipful Steven Adam Rubin, Grand Master, and is handcrafted in the Dominican Republic. Presented in imperial blue with gold foil imprint. Only 1,000 individually numbered boxes will be produced. Each pre-sale box will cost $156.95. (Discounts will be applied for bulk purchases.)

Please find all of the details about the cigar and pre-sale here.

Orders can be placed through the Baron of HAVANA website and also will be for sale at the March special Grand Lodge session, our May Grand Lodge session, and other events.

(Grand Lodge F&AM of the State of New York is a trademark licensor only, and is not engaged in the sale of tobacco products. Sold exclusively by Baron of HAVANA.)

Behind The Grand Master cigar stands José “Jochy” Blanco, a legendary tobacco icon whose expertise spans more than four decades. Jochy blends with both intuitive mastery and meticulous precision, understanding how tobaccos from different regions and harvests will develop over time while ensuring every cigar delivers consistent, complex excellence. (Cigar Aficionado magazine’s Master Blender of the Cigar of The Year 2019.)

Aged for at least five years. The Grand Master is not merely a premium cigar. It is a masterpiece exclusively rolled by hand, a tribute to the principles of patience, precision, and excellence that define both the Masonic Craft and the art of fine tobacco. This patient maturation allowed the tobaccos to marry completely, developing a complexity and smoothness that simply cannot be rushed. Time, after all, is the one ingredient that cannot be substituted.

Each box contains ten toros (6x52) which, the website says, are medium bodied. Shipping is to begin this month.

I’m not sure what is meant by five years of aging. That is an inordinate period for aging either bales of leaves or, certainly, a finished product. I hereby willingly suspend disbelief for the sake of having a good time.

Speaking of good times, International Enjoy a Cigar Day was established in 2018 by both Cigar Rights of Europe and Cigar Rights of America, two lobby groups that try to protect cigar enthusiasts from the relentless government encroachments against their harmless hobby.

     

‘Freemasonry and the pursuit of Happiness’

    

National Archives

‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.’

Since the vernal equinox passed a minute ago, I think it’s okay to look to an event coming in late spring. This is far outside my orbit, but Arizona Lodge of Research 1 will host a discussion at its quarterly stated meeting on June 10 that’ll be very timely, with the Declaration of Independence’s 250th anniversary only several weeks afterward.

W. Ted Cross

At this meeting, Past Master Ted Cross will discuss “What the Founders Meant by Happiness: A Journey Through Virtue and Character.”

This will connect with the course, created with the National Constitution Center, he teaches at Arizona State University. This class, available free of charge online, is a “guided exploration of happiness, virtue, and democracy,” says ASU, describing the subject thusly:

ASU

What does it mean to live a virtuous life in a free society? This course invites learners to explore happiness not as the personal pursuit of feeling good but as an idea closely tied to character, civic responsibility, leadership, and participation in a constitutional democracy. At the heart of this is the belief that self-government begins with government of the self.

Through letters, speeches, essays, and stories from the founding era, learners see how key figures in American history understood happiness as the cultivation of virtue and self-mastery, and how they wrestled—often imperfectly—with questions of moral judgment in both public and private life.

By engaging with these historical examples, learners consider how ideas about character, leadership, moral responsibility, and civic duty shaped the American experiment in self-government and continue to resonate in our civic life today.

12 Self-Paced Modules

Each module combines primary source texts, interpretive essays, and guided inquiry reflection to support reflection on how ideas from the past can inform judgment, responsibility, and participation in a constitutional democracy today, including:

► What does it mean to pursue happiness in a society shaped by competing values and interests?

► How should character and virtue shape leadership, citizenship, and public decision-making?

► What responsibilities accompany individual freedom in a democratic society?

► How can virtue formation, historical understanding, and self government strengthen civil dialogue and civic life, rather than deepen polarization?

On the Masonic side, this research lodge in its social media says:

What Did the Founders Mean by Happiness? What did the Founders really mean by the “pursuit of Happiness?” Not comfort, but character, virtue, and purpose.

Explore these ideas in a new free online course from ASU and the National Constitution Center. Then join Dr. Ted Cross on June 10 at the Arizona Research Lodge 1 Quarterly Stated Meeting, where he will speak on the course and its connection to Masonic philosophy and practice.

W. Bro. Cross is a Past Master of the lodge. You might know him from several appearances on the Craftsmen Online podcast. He was RW Michael Arce’s guest last August 4—click here—to talk about “The Science of Happiness and Meaning.”

At ASU in Tempe, Cross is the Assistant Vice President, Principled Innovation, in the Office of University Affairs, where he “centers on advancing ASU’s ninth design aspiration—Practice Principled Innovation. Ted collaborates with university leaders to embed practices that draw on values, character, civic and intellectual assets to drive human flourishing at ASU and beyond.”

This sounds like an amazing program for Arizona Lodge of Research’s June 10 meeting at the century-old Phoenix Masonic Temple. Remember, Masonic research that reflects on specific Masonic people and events of the past also ought to make the meaning of Masonry an animating energy in our lives now.

Check out Bro. Cross’ other Craftsmen Online appearance, from December 15, on “The Masonic Mind” here.

     

‘Masonry’s mistaken meaning of Music’

    

Bro. Howard Kanowitz presenting ‘What’s Wrong with the Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences?’ this morning at New Jersey Lodge of Masonic Research and Education 1786 at Freemasons Hall in North Brunswick. He spoke of Music, but is not conducting an orchestra here.

I’ve always insisted lunch is the most important meal of the workday, and it’s essential to a daylight lodge as well.

New Jersey Lodge of Masonic Research and Education 1786 met this morning at Freemasons Hall in North Brunswick for what turned out to be a pretty quick communication. Only ten were in attendance, which was unfortunate because our speaker was the inimitable Howard Kanowitz, doing his thing as only he can do. Some of our principal officers were absent, including Secretary Erich, who is in California speaking at the International Conference on Freemasonry. He sent me an email last night describing the debauchery few would believe is possible among Freemasonry’s celebrity intellectuals.

Click to enlarge.

Speaking of conferences, Past Master Bob, filling the loafers of absent Secretary Erich, updated us on the John Skene Masonic Conference coming in August. We already knew it will span the weekend of August 28 and will take place at the Grand Lodge of New Jersey’s Fellowship Hall (except for the Gravesite Memorial at Skene’s approximate final resting place). Now we know the speakers.

✓ Dr. Heather K. Calloway, Executive Director of University Collections at Indiana University.

✓ Robert L.D. Cooper, retired Curator of the Grand Lodge of Scotland and now co-host of the M.A.G.I. Podcast.

✓ Mark Tabbert, formerly of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial and now of the Masonic Service Association of North America, and author, and the other M.A.G.I. co-host, etc.

✓ The aforementioned Erich Huhn.

✓ And David Palladino, who is practically the lone champion of the humanities in New Jersey Freemasonry.

Other speakers are not confirmed yet but, trust me, they are authors from academia you know.

We received some sad news today—news to me anyway—as Len March, our research lodge’s inaugural treasurer, who manned that desk for many years, had passed away.

Also, it was noted how 2026 marks twenty-five years since MW David A. Chase set us to labor Under Dispensation. Vivat!

But lunch today—technically First Lunch, since we got to the restaurant before 11 a.m.—was a great time together. Junior Warden Dave, Senior Deacon Glenn, Bob, and I gabbed about Freemasonry over good grub and coffee. We chatted about things that could be improved in the field of Masonic education in New Jersey. Naturally, that topic could fill an immersive three-day conference of its own, so we circumscribed our desires and talked for a fast paced two hours about what we feasibly could affect. Lunch was longer than the meeting that brought us together in the first place.

Oh yeah, the meeting!

Howard presented “What’s Wrong with the Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences?” Music is the short answer.

By that, he means the citation of music within the Middle Chamber Lecture of the Fellow Craft Degree is discordant. Here’s how New Jersey’s version of the lecture addresses Music:

Music is that elevated science which affects the passions by sound. There are few who have not felt the charms of music, and acknowledged its expressions to be intelligible to the heart. It is a language of delightful sensation, far more eloquent than words; it touches and gently agitates the passions; it wraps us in melancholy, or elevates us in joy; it melts us in tenderness, or excites us to war. It is truly congenial to the nature of man for, by its powerful charms, the most discordant passions may be subdued.

I’d say what Howard means is, grouped among the Quadrivium, Music—in this particular Masonic context—is incongruent. The lecture’s talk of the incitement of passions, melancholy, joy, etc. makes Music sound more akin to the Trivium’s arts of Grammar, Rhetoric, and Logic, whereas Music would belong with Arithmetic, Geometry, and Astronomy if we instead noted its nature as a science of sound. Naturally, he spoke of the Harmony of Spheres so we understood why Music is a sibling of Arithmetic and Astronomy. This is something I’d never thought about, possibly because of my failure to internalize and recite the lecture for the Second Degree when I should have as an aspiring lodge officer decades ago—or since.

As an aside, let me explain that Music-as-science is how it worked originally. The Music paragraph in William Preston’s Illustrations of Masonry (1775 edition) says:

Music teaches us the art of forming concords so as to make delightful harmony by a mathematical and proportional arrangement of acute, grave, and mixed sounds. This art is by a series of experiments reduced to a demonstrative science with respect to tones and the intervals of sound only. It inquires into the nature of concords and discords, and enables us to find out the proportion between them by numbers.

There’s a saying at New Jersey’s research lodge: Ben Hoff (our other eminent scholar) views Freemasonry through a microscope, and Howard views Freemasonry through a telescope, meaning Ben searches internally in his forensic studies of ritual evolution, and Howard scans a broad horizon to chart another direction Freemasonry can send us. Ben would’ve pointed out that Preston bit had he been there. Anyway, the world history Howard unspooled took us from Pythagoras and Martianus Capella to Brahe and Kepler, with stops in Prague and Vienna to visit Mozart and Beethoven. Really outstanding work, and presented without reading material—no paper nor notes, nothing, nada. An appropriate topic for π Day too.

Without revealing the substance of the private conversation during First Lunch, we groused about how few Masons can be motivated to come hear fascinating Masonic talks. Never mind conceiving, researching, and writing such pieces of architecture themselves, but just showing up to listen to one of the best in the field.

A new clock has been hung in the lodge room! I’ve been attending various meetings here for twenty years and I’d swear the previous clock was always off by fifteen or sixteen hours. This one correctly shows the division of time.

We will do it again on Saturday, June 13. I’ll be back at the lectern September 12 to recount a far less enchanting tale of Masonry’s past.

    

‘Wendell K. Walker Lecture on Thursday’

    

Look, if you’ve never listened to me before, this is a good time to start: Get thee to Old Number 2 next Thursday to hear this lecture.

Wendell K. Walker Lecture

Independent Royal Arch Lodge 2

‘St. John of Jerusalem:

A Link to the Past’

by Pete Normand

Thursday, March 19 at 7 p.m.

Masonic Hall, Empire Room

You probably noticed how a few things we accept without question about our fraternity’s past cannot be explained anyway. For example, where did the Holy Saints John come from?

They are not found in the Old Charges, where we learn how St. Alban actually was the patron of masons. So how did John the Baptist and John the Evangelist enter Masonic ritual and symbol? Bro. Normand’s explanation will astound you.

You might not believe a Byzantine patriarch of Alexandria, Jonathan Swift, Chevalier Ramsay, T.E. Lawrence, a patriarch of Jerusalem, and a London tavern could have much in common—and especially with our ritual—which is why you should attend I.R.A. 2 next week.

More than merely one scholar’s opinion, Pete connects historical dots that will convince you.

His Masonic biography says:

An active Freemason since 1978, he is a Past Master of four Masonic lodges, a past presiding officer of all the bodies of the York Rite, a 33° member of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, and is a Past Grand Chancellor of the Grand College of Rites, U.S.A. In 1992, he was the Charter Master of St. Alban’s Masonic Lodge 1455, the first lodge created to pursue the best traditional practices of Freemasonry. From 2010 through 2014, he was President of the Masonic Restoration Foundation, an international organization that promotes and facilitates the formation of traditional and observant lodges. Best known as a Masonic researcher, writer and lecturer, Pete is a Past Master (1989) of Texas Lodge of Research, where he was named its fifteenth Fellow in Masonic Research in 2001. From 1991 through 1994, he edited and published American Masonic Review. He is a founding member, former editor and Fellow and of the Scottish Rite Research Society, founded in 1991. He continues to serve on the Society’s Board of Directors. In 2010 he was named the ninety-ninth member of the Society of Blue Friars, an invitational society of Masonic authors. Since 1984, he has served as the librarian and archivist of the Brazos Valley Masonic Library & Museum. He has served on the Fraternal Relations Committee of the Grand Lodge of Texas since 1991, and is a Past Chairman of the Commission on Information for Recognition of the Conference of Grand Masters in North America.

This will be Pete’s second Wendell K. Walker Lecture, the first being way back in the previous millennium.

     

‘Manly P. Hall at 125’

    

Manly Palmer Hall

Next Wednesday will be the 125th anniversary of the birth of Manly Palmer Hall, so his creation, the Philosophical Research Society, will celebrate with programming to honor his life’s work. From the publicity:

Join us in celebrating the 125th anniversary of the birth of Manly P. Hall (March 18, 1901- August 29, 1990). This month, we offer a series of events paying tribute to Hall, his teachings, and to seekers everywhere dedicated to wisdom and deeper knowledge.

Manly Hall and the Little World

of PRS: A 125th Birthday Celebration

Wednesday, March 18 at 7 p.m.

Tickets here

To celebrate Manly’s life is to celebrate the philosophy he lived and the place of philosophical inquiry he gifted for all seekers to enjoy. For this special evening, we will be joined by PRS President John Pillsbury; Amanda Brass, host of the Manly Hall Reading Group and PRS Monthly Tours; and Stephen Reedy, who has taught several courses on Hall’s The Secret Teachings of All Ages. This panel, moderated by PRS lecturer and publications manager, Devon Deimler, will lead us through the story of Hall’s life and how PRS has been and continues to be at the heart of his life’s work: as a center of learning, community, and the invitation for all who visit to take the truth, beauty, wisdom, and love they may discover within themselves back into the world.

Our panel’s reflections will be augmented with a stunning slideshow of original design plans and photographs of PRS’ changing architecture over the years, as well as clips drawn from the hundreds of inspired lectures Hall delivered in the auditorium in which we’ll be gathered. Attendees will be invited to share their own recollections and stories of what Manly Hall and PRS have meant to their lives.

The Manly Hall Reading Group

Tuesday, March 17 at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets here

Ever wanted to dive into Manly Hall’s work, but weren’t sure you could commit to a whole class? PRS presents a monthly reading group! Students and seekers will meet host Amanda Brass in the PRS Library at 7:30 p.m. Opening ritual will include the pulling of one tarot card from the Knapp-Hall tarot deck, then reading out loud from the book until 9 p.m. Final 30 minutes are dedicated to questions and discussion.

Peace Class with Mandy Kahn

in the PRS Library

Sunday, March 22 at 4 p.m.

Tickets here

This 90-minute class is designed to provide attendees with a practical, immediate tool kit for inner peace through a sequence of guided meditations and visualizations. These practices are intended to lift the individual perspective into the “Peace Mind”—a higher state of consciousness characterized by peace-without-end, universal compassion, and a profound sense of purpose. By engaging in guided processes to clear the mental and emotional blocks that often obscure our natural state of tranquility, participants will create space for internal clarity and open themselves to receiving messages from their own higher selves.

These practices are rooted in the belief that cultivating inner peace is the essential foundation for a more peaceful society.

Manly P. Hall:

Prophet of Consciousness,

a talk with Stephan Hoeller

Tuesday. March 24 at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets here

Join us as we celebrate Manly P. Hall’s birthday with recollections from Stephan Hoeller, an esteemed lecturer at PRS since the 1970s!

“It is a teaching well known in some theologies that the dead live on in the memories of those who knew them in life. As times pass and the admiring crowds vanish, it may be of importance for the few who were still present when the sage was with us to invoke their memories of this truly remarkable man. Those who remember will not let go of the image of the noble figure who was so often seen by us in his office or library and lecture room surrounded by splendid objects from many cultures, emanating an aura of gentlemanly refinement combined with subtle humor, seated in a huge chair, delivering long discourses of inspiring and informative content. When closing my eyes, I can still perceive the Barrymore-like profile and can hear the melodious voice conveying idealism, insight, and wonder. The memories of the sage have their own liberating power. In an age where fear, sorrow, and confusion are omnipresent, such thoughts are a great blessing indeed. Perhaps this small account of reminiscences may lighten the weight of time and place us on the eternal ways, where we might meet the unforgettable sage.”

  

Stephan A. Hoeller,

Remembering an American Sage: An Admirer and Associate Reminisces about Manly Palmer Hall

Manly Hall’s Adventures with Books,

a talk with William Kiesel

Wednesday, March 25 at 7 p.m.

Tickets here

In-Person and Online event!

Manly P. Hall’s monumental work The Secret Teachings of All Ages is a comprehensive tome on the wisdom traditions of the West and acts as a guiding light to seekers of the mysteries. The Philosophical Research Society Library became the center of research for these topics after Hall’s enthusiastic efforts at collecting source materials in its hallowed shelves.

In honor of Manly Hall’s birthday on March 18 and his contribution to the preservation of these materials, William Kiesel will present “Manly P. Hall’s Adventures with Books,” which features stories of Hall’s discovery and acquisition of the treasures in the PRS Library stacks. Some of the most intriguing and important items of the collection will be discussed and anecdotes from Hall’s experiences gathering the books together will accompany the visual presentation.

A Tour of The Philosophical Research Society

Saturday, March 28 at 11 a.m.

Tickets here

Explore the Philosophical Research Society storied history, beautiful and rare collections, and Mayan Revival architecture! Whether you’re a fan of Los Angeles architecture, rare books, hidden archives, Golden Era Hollywood, or Manly Hall’s works, PRS is thrilled to announce visitors can now book tours to see our entire campus.

Experience the wonder (inside and out!) of the Mayan Revival jewel known as The Philosophical Research Society! Tours embark on foot from the courtyard, to the Library, up to the Lecture Room, around the outdoors statues, down to the art gallery, through the bookstore, and ending in the auditorium.

     

‘Livingston Library seeks curator’

    

The Chancellor Robert R. Livingston Masonic Library of the Grand Lodge of New York seeks a new Curator.

Bro. Michael LaRocco, Executive Director, announced the candidate search this afternoon to the Masonic Library and Museum Association.

Description:

Collections Curator

Full-time position, with benefits, based at Masonic Hall, 71 W. 23rd Street, New York, NY 10010.

Conduct research on the artifacts of The Chancellor Robert R. Livingston Masonic Library of the Grand Lodge to identify origin and historical value of artifacts. Preserve and curate the collection. Plan and prepare exhibits. Contribute to Museum blog posts and newsletter. Represent the institution in the professional community. Use Photoshop, MS Word, and Excel software.

Job Requirements: M.S. in Museum Studies or related field, and two years experience as Museum Technician, or B.A. in Museum Studies or related field, and four years experience as Curator, Museum Technician or Museum Collections work. Any suitable combination of education, training or experience is acceptable.

Yeah, of course I would give my heart and vitals to do this work, but I don’t have any of that background.

I wish the incumbent, Ratirat Osiri, all the best for the future, and wish good luck to all the applicants for this position.

Contact here.

     

     

‘2026 John Skene Masonic Conference’

   

Click to enlarge.

And speaking of the 2026 John Skene Masonic Conference (see post below), the organizers have set a time and place. The graphic above has all the information available so far, but I’m sure the conference speakers will be announced before long. See you there.

This time, the conference will have the support of the Grand Lodge of New Jersey, thanks to the kind offices of MW Omar Morris, Grand Master. That’s a big benefit. This time, the conference will be hosted on Grand Lodge’s Burlington campus, which is very near Peachfield, where Skene lived, died, and was buried. In contrast, last year we attended the usual gravesite memorial before commuting sixty miles to the conference in the Plainfield Masonic Temple. Naturally, this year’s arrangement is a lot more convenient. Plus, the Grand Lodge’s patronage may help sell tickets.

If you wonder who was John Skene, well he was a Mason in Aberdeen, Scotland who emigrated to the West Jersey colony in 1682—becoming the first Mason in the New World. Read more here.

Tickets, etc. here.

This reminds me I still haven’t written up last year’s conference. I will! I put it on my calendar for next Sunday.

     

‘What’s Wrong with the Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences?’

    

Philosophia et Septem Artes Liberales, (Philosophy and the Seven Liberal Arts), from the Hortus Deliciarum of Herrad of Landsberg, 12th century.

I’ve been so busy plugging other research lodges here lately that I almost forgot New Jersey’s. Yes, New Jersey Lodge of Masonic Research and Education 1786 will meet this Saturday at Freemasons Hall in North Brunswick. The agenda:

 ▸ Howard Kanowitz will present his new paper “What’s Wrong with the Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences?”

Have modern changes to our understanding of what science is hurt its original utility to our Craft? Howard will guide us in this question.

 ▸ Time allowing, there will be a general discussion about the semiquincentennial of the American Revolution.

Under lodge business, we have some catching up to do regarding obtaining lodge paraphernalia and organizing it in storage, and our replacement website. And we’ll hear an update on this year’s John Skene Masonic Conference! Thanks to Grand Master Omar Morris, this conference—the fourth annual, if I’m not mistaken—will benefit from support from the Grand Lodge of New Jersey.

Pre-meeting refreshments (coffee, orange juice, donuts, pastries), as usual, will be available around 8:45. Cost is just $1/per person. Luncheon: After the meeting, we will travel to the nearby Omega Diner.

As always, attendance is open to Master Masons. Attire is suit & tie with apron.

     

‘An Evening with Brent Morris and Piers Vaughan’

    

This month’s meeting of The American Lodge of Research will land on Tuesday the 31st, and a special event is planned.

S. Brent Morris and Piers A. Vaughan are two of our recently elected Fellows, and on this night they will receive their Fellowship diplomas. Not content with an awards presentation, the pair will anchor a “stump the band” kind of discussion forum. Bring your most pressing, most probing, most personally vexing questions to the panel.

(Grand Lodge disclaimer: Neither Brent Morris nor Piers Vaughan is an attorney. Please restrict your questions to Masonic topics.)

In my own opinion, Brent and Piers will make an odd couple of Fellows, as Brent is best known as a historian who brings to light lost facts and their significance to the Craft, and Piers specializes in the unseen intuitive meanings of Masonry and its kindred sciences. This will be a memorable night at The ALR.

We’ll be in Masonic Hall, inside the Colonial Room at 7 p.m. Collation will follow in the French Ionic Room.

     

‘Research lodge’s diamond anniversary in the emerald month’

    

May 9 has the potential to be an utterly entertaining, albeit exhausting, day.

That second Saturday of the emerald month will see The American Lodge of Research sojourn to Saugerties for a joint meeting with Ulster Lodge 193. I’ll be there. Later that afternoon, Connecticut’s Masonic Lodge of Research 401 will gather for a celebration that I want to attend also.

At about 100 miles apart, I’d have to drive like one of them new “California” truckers to reach New Haven on time, but I feel motivated. Maybe stay off the Thruway and 84 if you can.

Masonic Lodge of Research 401’s day is advertised in the March trestleboard of Quinta Essentia Lodge 500 as an awards ceremony and dinner. Both lodges meet at New Haven and, unsurprisingly, share some members in common. One of those is W. Bro. Martin Ede, the highly regarded local historian, scholar, perennial Worshipful Master, etc., who will be honored with the lodge’s wonderfully prestigious James Royal Case Fellowship that day. This research lodge was founded May 6, 1966, so I’m assuming this event also will be a sixtieth (diamond) anniversary bash.

Case (1895-1987) was a Past Master and a Fellow of The ALR, and that lures me too. He was one of those mid-twentieth century American scholars in Masonry prolific in authoring books and research papers. He studied and wrote of histories outside the Masonic Order also, such as the Revolutionary War in Connecticut. His book titles include: 

 ▸ Tryon’s Raid on Danbury, 1777: The Battle of Ridgefield and Gen. David Wooster’s Career

 ▸ Fifty Early American Military Freemasons

 ▸ The Case Collection: Biographies of Masonic Notables, Volumes I and II (for Missouri Lodge of Research)

 ▸ Freemasons at the First Inauguration of George Washington, April 30, 1789 (for the Masonic Service Association)

 ▸ Thank You, Mr. Edwards: A Bicentennial History of the Grand Lodge, AF&AM of Connecticut

 ▸ A History of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite in Connecticut

And, unsurprisingly, recent James Royal Case Fellows include familiar Masons, such as Dick Fletcher, Chris Hodapp, Tim Hogan, Arturo de Hoyos, Brent Morris, Roy Wells, and a lot of local talent, including Ron Goldwyn.

Somewhere I had a photo of Case standing in The ALR from, maybe, the sixties. Can’t find it.

     

‘Thomas Smith Webb Chapter of Research to meet’

    

Thomas Smith Webb Chapter of Research 1798 will meet next Thursday during the Grand Chapter weekend in Binghamton. This convocation will open at 1:30 in the Carlton A room on the lower level of the hotel.

I haven’t attended one of these in ages, but they are busy affairs. Of course, the election and installation of officers is on the agenda. EHP Ken Stuczynski will present “Royal Arch as an Allegory of the Afterlife.” There may be other presentations. And, a new book of transactions will be released!

Covering 2014 to 2025, this volume features contributions from Oscar Alleyne, O’Neil G.D. Bryan, William Carter, Brett Laird Francis Doyle, Victor Escorbores, Christopher Fox, Mark D. Isaacs, Gregory D. MacLeod, Mark Z. Oldknow, Peter Pizzorno, Jeff Slattery, Ken Stuczynski, Michael D. Weisberg, Donald Williams, and Jeffrey M. Williamson.

Members of the chapter will receive a digital version of the book at no cost, and copies will be available on a first-come, first-served basis at this meeting for $10, and will be for sale for $19.99 afterward.

This chapter was warranted on August 2, 2002 by the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of the State of New York for the purpose of encouraging research into Royal Arch Masonry for discussion. Click here for membership information.

Congratulations to everyone in the new officer line. Don’t forget to schedule a meeting or three downstate somewhere.

     

‘It’s National Grammar Day’

    

Winding Stairway of the Marietta Masonic Building, Ohio. Those five balusters at center are in the forms of the Five Orders of Architecture. American Union Lodge 1 and Harmar 390 meet here. The temple was constructed by Harmar in 1907-08.

Grammar teaches us the proper arrangement of words according to the idiom or dialect of any particular kingdom or people; and that excellency of pronunciation, which enables us to speak or write a language with accuracy and justness, agreeable to reason, authority, and the strict rules of literature.

William Preston

Illustrations of Masonry

1775

Grammar. One of the seven liberal arts and sciences, which forms, with Logic and Rhetoric, a triad dedicated to the cultivation of language. “God,” says Sanctius, “created man the participant of reason; and as He willed him to be a social being, He bestowed upon him the gift of language, in the perfecting of which there are three aids. The first is Grammar, which rejects from language all solecisms and barbarous expressions; the second is Logic, which is occupied with the truthfulness of language; and the third is Rhetoric, which seeks only the adornment of language.”

Albert G. Mackey

Encyclopedia of Freemasonry and its Kindred Sciences

1917

Arts and Sciences, Liberal. In the seventh century, and for many centuries afterwards, all learning was limited to and comprised in what were called the seven liberal arts and sciences, namely: grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy. The epithet “liberal” is a fair translation of the Latin ingenuus, which means free-born; thus Cicero speaks of the artes ingenuae, or the arts befitting a free-born man; and Ovid says in the well-known lines: “To have studied carefully the liberal arts refines the manners, and prevents us from being brutish.”

And Phillips, in his New World of Words (1706), defines the liberal arts and sciences to be “such as are fit for gentlemen and scholars, as mechanic trades and handicrafts for meaner people.” As Freemasons are required by their landmarks to be free-born, we see the propriety of incorporating the arts of free-born men among their symbols. As the system of Masonry derived its present form and organization from the times when the study of these arts and sciences constituted the labors of the wisest men, they have very appropriately been adopted as the symbol of the completion of human learning.

Albert Mackey

The Symbolism of Freemasonry; Illustrating and Explaining its Science and Philosophy, its Legends, Myths, and Symbols

1867

Grammar is the key by which alone the door can be opened to the understanding of speech. It is Grammar which reveals the admirable art of language and unfolds its various constituent parts—its names, definitions and respective offices; it unravels, as it were, the thread of which the web of speech is composed. These reflections seldom occur to anyone before his acquaintance with the art; yet it is most certain that, without a knowledge of Grammar, it is very difficult to speak with propriety, precision, and purity.

The Standard Work and Lectures

of Ancient Craft Masonry

Grand Lodge of New York

2019

Grammar. Is the key by which alone the door can be opened to the understanding of speech. It is Grammar which reveals the admirable art of language, and unfolds its various constituent parts—its names, definitions, and respective offices; it unravels, as it were, the thread of which the web of speech is composed. These reflections seldom occur to any one before their acquaintance with the art; yet it is most certain that, without a knowledge of Grammar, it is very difficult to speak with propriety, precision, and purity.

The General Ahiman Rezon

and Freemason’s Guide

Daniel Sickels

1865

Today is March fourth, which is homophonous with “march forth,” which is a complete sentence, which is why today’s date was chosen to be National Grammar Day, so happy National Grammar Day! This occasion was devised by Martha Brockenbrough, founder of the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar, in 2008.

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“So back to National Grammar Day, which is just one day,” says the University of Illinois. “You’ve heard of red-letter days. Well, National Grammar Day is a red-pen day, a day to correct other people’s grammar.”

Fortunately, there are ways to avoid that.

In his Prestonian Lecture for 1930, titled “The Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences,” Henry Philip Cart de Lafontaine says:

According to the definition of the late Dr. Henry Sweet, a grammar gives the general facts of language, whilst a dictionary deals with the special facts of language. To the ordinary man, grammar means a set of more or less arbitrary rules, which he has to observe if he wants to speak or write correctly; this may be called prescriptive grammar. To a scientific man, the rules are not what he has to observe but what he observes when he examines the way in which speakers and writers belonging to a particular community or nation actually use their mother-tongue; this may be labelled descriptive grammar. The nineteenth century furnished us with another form of grammar, comparative historical grammar, and this should always be supplemented by separative grammar, which does full justice to what is peculiar to each language, and treats each on its own merits. Many things of grammatical importance, such as intonation, stress, etc., are not shown in our traditional spellings. Dialect grammars and grammars of the languages of uncivilized races deal of necessity only with spoken words. Grammar being the basis of all the liberal sciences, it particularly concerns us as Masons to know its rules, for without this knowledge we cannot be acquainted with the beauties of our own Craft lectures, nor can we speak with correctness or propriety. When I reflect on the present slip-shod manner of speech, on the ungrammatical nature of letter-writing, on the loose phraseology of the ordinary novel, and on the atrocious spelling exhibited in letter-writing, I am led to recommend wholeheartedly a return to the study of grammar.